Red Sox 3, White Sox 1: Ross to the rescue, again

BOSTON — Never before has Cody Ross enjoyed a bat flip like the one on Thursday night — and that’s saying something.

Brian MacPherson Journal Sports Writer brianmacp

BOSTON — Never before has Cody Ross enjoyed a bat flip like the one on Thursday night — and that’s saying something.

After singles by Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez set the table in the bottom of the ninth inning, Ross hit a three-run home run off one of the billboards above the Green Monster seats to lift the Red Sox to a 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night. It was the third home run in two nights for Ross — and it was yet another indicator that a Boston lineup rebuilt through health still could make the Red Sox a force in the American League playoff race in the final two months of the season.

David Ortiz has more than 10 days left on the disabled list, and the Red Sox lineup can’t be considered fully healthy until he gets back. But the return of Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford in the last week have given the Red Sox a jolt already, and the return of Dustin Pedroia on Thursday night did likewise.

After Crawford led off the ninth with a single to right field off reliever Matt Thornton, Pedroia followed with a grounder to third that erased Crawford. Adrian Gonzalez followed with a single to right field to push Pedroia along to second base.

Hard-throwing reliever Addison Reed was summoned to face Ross, but Ross ripped the third pitch he saw over the Green Monster — flipping his bat like he hasn’t flipped his bat all season. A mob of teammates met him at home plate.

“I felt like a bunch of piranhas jumped on me and just started attacking me,” Ross said. “I've never had that happen to me, but I assume that's what it'd feel like.”

“I love his smile, I love his swing, I love his energy,” Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said. “What is there not to love?”

The explosive ninth inning represented a dramatic change from what had been a quiet night for the Red Sox offense.

Plenty of young lefties have absorbed bruises at the hands of the Red Sox this season — Tommy Milone, Mike Minor, Matt Moore, Jonathan Sanchez and, most recently, Chicago White Sox youngster Pedro Hernandez, who allowed two home runs to Ross in a rout at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.

Jose Quintana must have picked something up from watching what Hernandez tried to do — or maybe he has a better repertoire than Hernandez and most of the other young lefties the Red Sox have teed off on this season.

Thanks in part to a sprawling play by shortstop Alexei Ramirez to bail him out of a bases-loaded jam, Quintana tossed eight scoreless innings and yielded just four hits while striking out two and not walking anyone. That he did so against just about the same lineup that had thrashed Hernandez the night before only made it more impressive.

Not until the seventh inning did the Red Sox even threaten to score off Quintana. The lefty set down eight straight to start the game before a Pedro Ciriaco triple in the third inning, and he set down 11 straight after the Ciriaco triple.

“It makes you realize and remember why this team was so good,” said starting pitcher Clay Buchholz, who threw eight terrific innings before turning it over to Alfredo Aceves for the ninth. “You can't pitch around guys to get to the next guy through our whole lineup right now. It's a good feeling to go out there and know that you have a chance for your team to score 10 runs every game. It might not happen every time, but things like today can happen.”

With one out in the seventh inning, however, the Red Sox got something going when Pedroia, Gonzalez and Ross hit back-to-back-to-back singles. Pedroia probably could have scored had he still been running when White Sox left fielder Dylan Viciedo bobbled the ball, but third-base coach Jerry Royster already had thrown out what otherwise was a wise stop sign given how shallow Viciedo had been when he got to the ball.

Rookie Will Middlebrooks waged an eight-pitch battle with Quintana, fouling off three pitches and working the count full before ripping a line drive toward left field. But Ramirez made an awkward stop of the ball, picking it off the ground on one hop, and starting a 6-4-3 double play that ended the inning.

Continuing a resurgence that has lasted for more than two months, Buchholz struck out six and walked just one in eight innings for the Red Sox. In 68 innings pitched since May 6, a span of 10 starts, Buchholz has a 3.31 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 16 walks. His ERA in that time has fallen from 9.09 to 5.19.

The White Sox scored their lone run in innocent fashion. Adam Dunn drew a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, the only walk Buchholz would issue. Paul Konerko bounced a single through the hole on the right side that allowed the slow-footed Dunn to scoot all the way to third. Alex Rios then lofted a sacrifice fly to right field.